World hunger falls first time in 15 years…

Senior UN officials say the number of hungry people in the world fell to 925 million from a record high of 1.02 billion in 2009, the first decline in 15 years, with much of the improvement tied to income growth in the Asia-Pacific region and to a 40 percent drop in food prices from their 2008 peak, The New York Times reported Sept. 14 (see world hunger story).

Donor gives $87 million just days after giving $26 million

Days after announcing a $26 million gift to The Dayton Foundation, its biggest gift ever, the Dayton philanthropist Virginia B. Toulmin announced the gift of an $87 million endowment to support research at the medical center at Georgetown University, the school’s biggest gift ever, The Dayton Daily News reported Sept. 15 (see Georgetown gift story).

University of Washington endowment recoups some losses

Hit hard by the recession, the endowment at the University of Washington grew to $1.83 billion in the fiscal year ended in June, up from $1.65 billion a year earlier but still behind 2008 levels, when it exceeded $2 billion, The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported Sept. 15 (see university endowment story).

Gates Foundation cuts deal with city for street around campus

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation made a deal with the city of Seattle to build a new street around its new campus rather than allow the city to tunnel under the property, agreeing to pay $8 million for excavation work and a land swap, The Seattle Times reported Sept. 14 (see Gates Foundation story).